College application volume has been rapidly increasing. In the past, applying to six or seven colleges might have been considered more than sufficient. Now that number has become not just commonplace, but in many cases, lower than the norm. Some students even apply to 15 or more institutions.
As current high school students prepare to apply to college, they will surely have many questions about this new reality of increasingly high college application volume. Here are answers to three of those questions.
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1. How common is this? In recent years, higher application volume has become very common. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, almost three-quarters of American schools have seen increases in 10 of the last 15 years.
As a growing number of colleges and universities adopt the Common Application, or otherwise transition to an online admissions process, it has never been easier to apply to a half dozen or more schools with the click of a mouse. Colleges and universities have also found new ways to market themselves to applicants, including via social media. The cumulative result is a larger pool of students from which a given institution can choose.
2. Does application volume naturally decrease acceptance rates? Theoretically, yes. If a school receives 5,000 more applications this year than it did the previous year, but does not plan to increase the size of its freshman class, then its acceptance rate will naturally decrease. This is not a guarantee, however.
Colleges recognize that students are applying to more schools, and their expected yield from those students that they accept may thus decrease. This is because if you apply to two institutions, you may receive a single acceptance letter. Chances are good that you will attend that school.
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If you apply to 10 institutions, you may get in to seven, which means rejecting six offers. These six seats are then available to other students. Certain colleges and universities may also choose to increase the size of their freshman classes, which can soften the blow of rising application volume.
3. Should I apply to easier schools or more colleges as a result? This depends on where you plan to apply. For all students, the time of applying to just one or two schools is likely over. No matter what caliber of college you wish to be admitted to, ensure that you apply to a range of schools. This should include one or two dream colleges, several target schools and one or two safety colleges.
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If you hope to attend a highly selective school, then yes, it is wise to apply to a higher volume of colleges and universities to increase your chances of admission to one. You should not, however, neglect target and safety schools. You also do not need to apply to 20 institutions — more than a dozen is likely excessive.
While increasing college application volume can likewise increase the pressure on high school students looking to apply to college, the trend is not as all-consuming as it is sometimes thought to be. The key to success on all applications is ultimately hard work and careful research.
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What Rising College Application Volume Means for the Class of 2020 originally appeared on usnews.com
